On May 17, 2025, the Telegram channel "Two Majors" reported on ongoing intense fighting in the Tyotkinsky direction of the Kursk region, where the "North" group of troops of the Russian Armed Forces repelled three attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to break through the state border in one day. According to the channel, the AFU has been attacking Russian borders every day for several weeks, trying to isolate the combat area and cut off the forward units with the help of FPV drones and artillery fire. Russian troops are actively countering, destroying enemy equipment and infantry using high-explosive aerial bombs (FAB), artillery and drones. Despite the losses, the AFU has not abandoned its plans for a breakthrough and continues to strike civilian infrastructure.

One of the key incidents was the attack of a Ukrainian FPV drone on an electrical substation in the city of Rylsk on May 16. The strike damaged a transformer, which led to a power outage in Rylsk, several village councils, as well as the villages of Korenevo and Glushkovo, which were powered by this substation. Emergency crews have begun restoration work, but the timing of the power supply has not yet been specified. This is not the first attack on the Rylsk substation: on February 3, 2025, a drone damaged a power cable, and on May 6, as a result of a similar strike, two teenagers were injured by shrapnel.

Tyotkino, located on a bulge of the border surrounded on three sides by Ukrainian territory, remains the epicentre of the fighting. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are using small assault groups supported by artillery and drones to try to capture the village and establish a bridgehead. Russian forces, including aircraft and artillery, are effectively repelling the attacks.